Battling a Mystery
by togssg16
Summary: The next trial. Thomas and another mystery person must compete in the next and, hopefully, the final trial. No spoilers for The Death Cure, rated for violence.
1. Intro

**So, my friend's computer is jacked and I get to work on this one! For a while, at least, when it's ready again I'll pause this to finish Max Meet Maze. I **_**have**_** read The Death Cure, so I know what the real world is supposedly, like in his books. **

**Disclaimer: The a-mazing James Dashner owns the a-mazing trilogy.**

**Enjoy! R&R please! Oh, no spoilers for The Death Cure, there are spoilers for The Scorch Trials, though.**

Rat Man, whose name was actually Janson, showed us to a cafeteria-like room not too far from where we slept. Aris was the only one in our room who wasn't a Glader, but he was the only boy from Group B. Sort of like Teresa, who was the only girl from the Glade.

"Now that you've had rest," Rat Man said once everyone was through with their meal, "the net trial will begin. I must speak with Group A and B separately, if you may. Group B, please follow Ms. Bennett."

I watched as the room slowly emptied. Teresa was far from the rest of us, she must've been sitting with Group B, I thought.

"Group A, follow me." Silently, we obeyed as three or four pairs of double doors swung from in front or behind. Rat Man sat us down in a plain, white room. He sat at a desk while the rest of us took the floor as our seat.

"One of you-"

Rat Man was cut off by Ms. Bennett swinging the door wide open.

"Janson," she said sharply, throwing Aris into the room, "I believe you've gotten mixed up, boys in one room," she paused, searched for Teresa in the crowd, picked her up, and stood in the doorway again, "girls in the other!" With that, she slammed the door. I could hear her loud footsteps going down the hallway.

"What's with that woman?" Aris nearly screamed at Rat Man.

Rat Man shook his head. "No telling," he replied calmly. "As I was saying, one of you will be drawn to participate in the next trial. The others, I will tell later. For now, please write your name on this sheet of paper; then fold it neatly."

Rat Man handed out small pieces of paper to each person, a pen was given to someone randomly, for we were to share the pen. I wrote my name on my piece, folded it neatly, and handed it to Rat Man as he came by to pick them up. I figured there would be a different kind of drawing technique, but, no. Rat Man dumped the paper in his hand into an empty fishbowl.

"Really?" Minho wondered aloud next to me. It was a one-word sentence, but I couldn't have agreed more.

Finally, after tossing the pieces of paper around in the bowl, Rat Man carefully chose a piece of paper.

"Thomas," he called out.

I sighed and stood up. Rat Man smiled and said, "Thomas, go into that room right there."

I walked to a small white door and opened it up. Inside was a young man, no older than twenty. He smiled invitingly and I stepped through the doorway.

"You must be the participant. What's your name again?" he asked. The dim light wouldn't allow me to see many of his characteristics, but I could tell his eyes and hair were dark.

"Thomas," I replied.

"Very well, Thomas. Take a seat, will you?" Rows and rows of chairs were set in front of a huge screen; I sat on a chair in middle.

"This screen will show you and the other participant. Everyone will be watching you, Thomas, as you complete the next trial."

"What _is_ the next trial?" I asked. The man frowned. "I cannot say right now, hopefully everything will be revealed soon. For now, I am to tell you about the real world."

"The real world?" I asked quietly.

"You and the other participant will be thrown into the real world. I'm not sure where, exactly, but wherever you are you still need to now some simple things."

The man went on to tell me about the schools. Most everyone wore masks and those who didn't were shunned. Whether they were immune to the Flare or not didn't matter. I figured it would be wise to go ahead and wear one, even if I might be immune. **(I'm not telling you if he's immune or not, you might've not read the sneak peek for The Death Cure. Okay, fine, SPOILER: not telling)**

He told me that most everyone in the streets wore masks. Cranks were supposedly rare. When I asked why, the man said that if a Crank was caught, he or she was put in a place known as the Crank Palace. Policeman would randomly check a person, to see if they had the Flare or not, with a little device. The man said it wasn't dangerous, and told me not to worry if a policeman checked me.

Once the man had most everything explained, we both sat waiting for someone else to come.

"Mr. Ross," I said.

"Yes," he replied.

"Is it another participant?"

Mr. Ross grinned and shook his head. "No, it's just someone to tell you the rules of the next trial, someone to give you equipment that you need." He explained. We waited a few more minutes before a woman stepped in.

"Mr. Ross," she said, "I'll take it from here."

He nodded and headed out the doorway.

"Hello, Thomas," the woman said, giving me her hand to shake, "I'm Mrs. Hill, and I'll be giving you the basic rules." I shook her hand and she smiled weakly. It was fake.

"What kind of trial is this, anyway?" I questioned. She looked at me and the smile on her face disappeared.

"Well, fortunately, this is the last one."

With the smile being gone, I wondered if she knew about the argument he and David had. I couldn't help sighing, too. I guess there's nothing we can do about it, unfortunately.

"Well, what do I do?"

"You and the other participant will fight. You'll meet her after this, more or less. You'll be in separate groups, but in the same city. If you leave the city, you _and_ the other participant will be killed and replaced."

"Good that," I huffed under my breath.

"See this right here?" she said, handing me a small phone-like device. "Type in the coordinates right here," she typed C-2011 on the touch-screen device, "then hit 'FIRE'." She pointed to a small green button, and then pressed another button, similar in size, but it was red and had 'CANCEL' impressed on it.

"C-2011 is a coordinate that doesn't exist, but I typed in a code. Don't bother trying to figure it out."

"Okay," I muttered, still looking at the device. It was kind of like those kindle things, but you don't download books on these. It had a zoomed in map, a small town in the U.S.

"It hits your enemy. Your enemy is the next participant. She might go solo, which could be a good idea, or she could make a bunch of friends, become a gang. You can choose either or."

"What happens when I shoot someone?"

"You have to hit the enemy once, and then she dies. The same thing goes for whoever is her ally. In order to win you have to hit the enemy, _the _enemy. Do you understand?" I nodded.

"Good, in order to have someone join you, he or she must sign a paper. The papers your people must sign are hidden in an old brick building on 13th Street near Scott Road. Got it?" I nodded. "Got it,"

"You are not allowed to kill your enemy. It is physically impossible. Your enemy's allies are a different story, though."

"Oh, goody, I can't wait to kill a bunch of people." I sighed. My memory was on the Crank I killed in the underground at the Scorch with Brenda. Brenda, where was she? What happened to her?

"What happened to Brenda?" I asked Mrs. Hill.

"Brenda, oh," she smiled weakly, "Well, she's not dead. She's just fine, I promise." Something in the woman's eyes made me a bit more relaxed. I felt like I could trust her.

"Good, I don't want her dead," I chuckled, "Jorge, either."

She smiled, too. "Yes, they, ah, seem nice." She turned around and grabbed something, then turned back to me, handing it to me. "Backpack, you're going to need it. Here's a water bottle, a knife, wow. That is sharp." I could see her quickly putting her hands in her pocket, grabbing a Band-Aid out. "Ah, paper cuts," she chuckled.

"I think you're through with me. There's nothing else I can do." She sighed.

"Thanks," I said, slipping my backpack on my shoulders, after observing the knife. It was sharp; I could definitely cut something with it.

Mrs. Hill slipped out the doorway. The screen flipped on in front of me. I could see myself disguised in the upper right corner. A big picture of another disguised person was on the screen.

"What's going on?" The voice was disguised, leaving me with no clue who I was against.

"Are you the other participant?" I asked. My voice was disguised, too.

"Yes, but my name's-" her voice was cut off by a loud beep. I really hope she didn't say anything like that.

"They don't want us sharing our names." I said, sighing.

"Oh, I'm guessing you're my enemy."

"Yeah, hi, enemy,"

"Hello!" My enemy giggled. I laughed, too.

"So, see you in the, uh,"

"Arena, perhaps? Yeah, see you, too, I guess."

The screen cut off, and we were pushed into an elevator. I stood there for a minute, then I rose slowly into darkness.

**My other friend made a profile, too. His name's zequin. Maybe he'll post some fan fictions . . . who knows?**

**So, how'd you like it? Please review! You can review on grammar, spelling, punctuation, ideas, how awesome on a scale of 1-10, etc. **


	2. Cranks

**I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while, but do you **_**realize **_**how hard it is to write this stuff? But here I am! Disclaimer: James Dashner owns The Maze Runner Trilogy.**

I now stood in a regular elevator, in a regular, busy city building. People crowded around each other, holding masks up to their faces. I stepped out of the elevator and headed outside, holding my hand over my face as if I didn't want to catch the Flare.

Outside everything was different than what I expected. People were everywhere, too busy to stop. Except the ones who had the Bliss. At least, that's what I thought it was. Some people leaned against the side of different buildings, their faces dirty and different. They seemed almost-relaxed. Or at least more relaxed than the people running around.

My hand was still placed over my mouth as I walked quickly and looked around. There was a small diner without too many people inside, so I decided to check it out.

Inside it looked old and dirty. Most of the booths and tables were filled, but it was more comfortable than on the sidewalk and road, with busy people refusing to look back.

"What can I do for ya?" Someone asked. I looked up to find a woman grinning at me.

"Booth, please," I answered.

She talked as she led me to a small booth, something about business. I don't know. When she was gone I pulled out the device gave me. I typed in some coordiantes, mostly messing around with it, and hit 'FIRE'.

From around me, I could hear screams of horror. I silently prayed that I didn't do it. Instead, a policeman was yelling at a guy. He looked infected with the Bliss. I hopped up and ran out.

I ran a few blocks away into an alley. I didn't want to be a part of whatever was going on with the policeman. Sighing, I checked the device.

**TARGET MISSED**

**WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE ENEMY'S PROGRESS?**

I hesitated, then pressed 'YES'

After loading, it gave a list of three people. One being named Anonymous. The others were a boy named Ralphie J. and a girl named Tori. Their pictures were beside their names. R.J. had short, black hair and dark, forest green eyes. Tori had dark brown hair and the same color eyes; both of their skin was tanned. It also gave me a list of who fired. R.J. had shot once, Tori once, and my main enemy three times.

Once I was done snooping on my enemy, I sighed and put the device in my pocket. So I know who my enemy's allies are, that's nice, I thought to myself. Then I realized whoever I was against could also view my so-called "progress".

I didn't have much progress, I shot once, had no allies, and was squatting in a corner of an alley, holding the device close to my face so no one could see it. I waited a few minutes for everyone around to calm down a bit, once they did, I walked into the street and continued with the normal life I didn't have.

Pretty soon I found myself in front of 12th street. I decided to check out 13th and see where that building was at. I wasn't planning on getting anyone to join me; I wanted to go solo, but there might be something else in the building.

As I walked down 13th, searching for the house, I could see only peace. All the houses were just sitting there, waiting for something to happen. Few cranks ran around the place, eyeing me for a second before running off again. The tension was overwhelming, "If someone's gonna do something, they better hurry up," I muttered.

A while later, I sighed happily because I had found the house I'd been looking for. As I walked on the dirt, unkept grass, what seemed like hundreds of cranks poured out in front of the door. They stopped me from going inside.

**Ah. Finally, I've succeeded in updating! Please review. Especially if your my best friend and your nickname is Ari from Maximum Ride and I've been telling you to read and review my stories before you and Iggy left for that cruise in Christmas break. Fame received, Ari, now review. **

**And no I won't add please for you.**

**Please review to everyone else!**


	3. REBELLION!

HEY THERE  
>HEY CHECTHIS IS A CHAMPAIGN TO SAVE FANFICTION!<br>K THIS OUT FIRST VIMP SEND IT TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW  
>Okay everyone pay attention, BIG NEWS AFOOT.<p>

I recently discovered that there is a new bill called PIPA that is if is pass it will REMOVE EVERY STORY IN ALL OF FANFICTION.

The U.S government is trying to take away this site! We have to kill that bill. The thing is I am not an American citizen. But many people who read this are. There is a fanfiction member under the penname of XxDarkxBloodxX he has more information about that, including the phone numbers of all the state senators. Check this link for more information .net/s/7753936/1/PIPA and also google Bill PIPA and you will know I am not joking.

We are over 2 million members and most of them are in the United States. If we most of us work together we can kill this bill. So to every citizen reading this DON'T LET YOUR GOVERNMENT CENSOR THIS SITE. To everyone reading this who isn't a U.S citizen, make author notes like this one so that your American readers vote against this bill and I encourage the American members to spread the voice as well.

I repeat, this is no joke! We have until the January 24th. EVERYONE, FIGHT THIS BILL!

People, I have an idea. It seems that Hollywood is a major supporter of PIPA and SOPA. They even threaten Obama to don't give him any money for his reelection campaign.

So to everyone who can't vote because you are either too young or not an American citizen, you can join a world-wide boycott movement against Hollywood. From tomorrow Friday 20 to Sunday 22 of January DON'T GO TO THE MOVIE THEATRE.

Seriously, just three short days for us that we can live without movies and Hollywood will lose millions of dollars world-wide. It will also send a message to their leader: FANFICTION MEMBERS WILL FIGHT AGAINST PIPA AND SOPA. Then they might start having second thoughts.

So everyone please cooperate for the sake of this site. Just three short days for us but it will be a pain in the pocket for Hollywood, the main opposition. So let's rally against our common enemy.

We can do this people! So you know the drill and now go spread the word!

FOR FANFICTION!

I have more information everyone. Believe it or not, this cybernetic apocalypse is already starting. One of the most important websites of file exchange known as Megaupload has already been shut down by the FBI all thanks to this blasted bill. And it gets worse. I manage to find a legit list of all the sites that will be shut down (so far, the list may grow bigger).

For downloading sites, the ones scheduled for execution are:

Mediafire

Rapidshare

Uploading

Fileserve

4share

Filestube

Ares

Limeware

Emule

Edonkey

Torrents

For Blackberry cellphone related things:

Duoberry

.com

Lips

And even the social network ones like:

Facebook

Youtube

Myspace

Google ( videos )

Wikipedia

We can't allow this to happen! We have to fight! And we can fight. There is a website called www. avaaz. Org / es / save _ the _ internet. You can sign up there for the petition. It requires your email and I know many people don't like to give that away but if there has ever been a worthy cause to give your email address to, this is it. Let's face it; what use will we give our email aside from contacting other people if they shut down all these websites? An email address will became almost worthless. So go to that website and help save the internet.

By the way, if anyone wants to copy paste the information of these author's notes to PM it or post it in your own stories to help spread the word, by all means go ahead!

And remember the boycott against Hollywood; three short days for us, millions of dollars less to our opposition. We can do this people! And we will do it!

FOR FANFICTION! DOWN WITH THE BILL

Please post this on your stories and pm it. Even if you have friends not on fanfiction I'm sure you can catch there attention with youtube


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